


Ready

by Josh89



Series: Mini-Castles [2]
Category: Castle (TV 2009)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, It's kind of both, Pregnancy, Prequel, Read the note at the start of the chapter for more info, Romantic Fluff, Sequel, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:15:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21677350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh89/pseuds/Josh89
Summary: 3 months after Kate got engaged to Richard Castle and left to take the job in DC, she discovers something. And then she has to go home.
Relationships: Kate Beckett/Richard Castle
Series: Mini-Castles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1562563
Kudos: 10





	Ready

**Author's Note:**

> So the chronology for this particular fic is slightly unusual. The first two segments (everything up until the second time skip), takes place before Unexpected News. The third segment takes place at the same time as the start of Unexpected News and is Kate's side of those events, and the fourth segment follows up the events of Unexpected News with dialogue between Rick, Kate, and Alexis.

~Katherine Houghton Beckett~  
“Captain Victoria Gates speaking”.  
The voice of the captain at Kate’s former Precinct is casual and business-like, and the FBI agent allows herself a slight smile before getting on with the reason for her call. “It’s Beckett”.  
“Ah, Agent Beckett. How are you?”  
“Good thank you. Though I’m afraid it may not be ‘Agent Beckett’ for much longer. Sir… What would you say if I was to ask for my job at the 12th Precinct back?”  
“I thought you were happy down there, Beckett…” the Captain protests.  
Kate allows herself to smile wryly. “I thought I was too. But I miss New York too much. Being with the FBI… the cases are important, sure, but I miss the personal stuff. I miss working with Ryan, Castle, Lanie, and Esposito. I miss the Precinct as a whole. And besides, certain things have come up which have made me think about the mistake I made when I left 3 months ago. I’ve decided I can’t stay here. No matter what you say, sir, I’m resigning from the FBI tomorrow and coming back to New York. Coming back home” she says simply.  
“Your old position has been temporarily filled by Esposito. Upon your return, you can have it back as soon as you re-pass the necessary tests, and provided that you serve a week’s probation pending your reinstatement and a second week’s desk duty immediately afterwards” Captain Gates replies, her voice strangely soft.  
“Thank you, sir”.  
“No need to thank me. Just answer this question. Does your reason for coming back have something to do with Richard Castle?”  
She feels herself blush at the question. Something? It has everything to do with him… “Part of it. Promise you won’t tell him, or anyone else, either that I’m coming back or what I’m about to tell you?”  
“I promise”.  
“I found out just a couple of hours ago. I’m pregnant. Castle… Rick’s going to be a father again”.  
She could tell from the way that Gates’ voice suddenly changed that her former Captain was happy for her, though she would also respect her wishes to keep the others in the dark. “I see. And that made you realize… what, exactly?”  
Beckett thinks quickly. What was it she had realized when she discovered that she was pregnant? Ah, yes. “I realized that I was pregnant with my fiancée’s child, and that I wanted more than anything to be a real part of that child’s life. I realized that I made a mistake when I agreed to take the job with the FBI. I realized that the idea of an actual life with Castle was more important to me than anything else in the world” she explains  
“He’s lucky to have you. As are you to have him”.  
Beckett allows herself a slight smile. “Trust me, sir; I know that only too well. I’ll see you in a couple of days then?”  
“Agreed”.  
Beckett ends the call and her smile widens as she gets back to packing. She’s ready to go home…  
-The next day-  
“Sir, do you have a moment?”  
The head of the FBI looks up as Agent Beckett pokes her head through the door. “Sure, Agent. What can I do for you?” he queries.  
Beckett walks up to the desk, takes her FBI badge from on her hip where it normally rests, and places it on the desk, then hands over her service weapon. “I resign. This job is great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not for me. I miss New York, my friends, my father, my fiancée and my soon-to-be stepdaughter. DC is not my home, nor will it ever be. Besides, I want to have a shot at building a real life with my fiancée and our family. I don’t want to do that while dealing with the kind of hours a position with the FBI dictates. I just can’t do that. I leave for New York tomorrow morning; Captain Victoria Gates of the NYPD 12th Precinct has already promised me my old position back, provided I go through a week’s probation pending my reinstatement and a week’s desk duty immediately afterwards”.  
Her boss sighs. “I can’t pretend I’m happy with your decision, Agent Beckett. You’re good at this job. You’re good here. But I guess I can see your reasoning. The cases we work are unpredictable; the kind of thing where you never know just where you’ll be sent or what hours you’ll be working exactly. I’ll miss you”.  
“Thank you for understanding, sir. I’ll miss this too. Although not enough to change my mind about staying”.  
“I figured. Alright then. Goodbye… Agent Beckett”.  
“Not Agent. Not anymore. Just Beckett. Goodbye, sir”.  
She shakes his outstretched hand and nods a farewell before turning for the door and striding quickly out. As she steps through the door, a smile plays across her features. She really can’t wait to go home. And she’s definitely ready to start wearing high heels again. For as long as she can before they start hurting her feet, anyway.  
-New York, a day later-  
Standing in front of the apartment block she knows will be her home soon enough, she pulls out her cellphone and quickly taps in her fiancée’s number, noting that he picks up almost immediately. “Rick”.  
“Kate. I was just making the final reservations for when I come down to DC this weekend” he replies casually.  
She grins to herself. She knows she should tell him the truth, but she’d much rather surprise him. Much more fun that way. So she decides to fake a concerned tone of voice. “I’m really sorry, Rick. There’s been a change of plans. Stay in New York this weekend”.  
“Why? Kate… Are you in danger or something?”  
“Danger? Not that I know of, no. Look… Again, I cannot begin to express how sorry I am. I promise that I’ll explain everything next time I see you” she claims, trying her best not to laugh at the silliness of the situation.  
“And when will that be?” Rick queries curiously.  
“In about five minutes”.  
And with that, she hangs up. She steps into the lobby of the building, waving to the doorman as she does. “Good evening, Miss Beckett. You here to see Mr. Castle?”  
“Yeah, actually, I am” she grins back.  
“You want me to call him and let him know that you’re on your way up?”  
She shakes her head. “No thank you. I think there’s a chance that he’s already figured out that I’m here, but I still want to surprise him”.  
Within five minutes, she’s using the key that Rick gave her to unlock the door to his apartment, and stepping inside. She’s in the process of taking off the high-heeled shoes she started wearing only minutes after resigning from the FBI when he comes out of his office to see her.   
-Seven hours later-  
Kate blinks and rubs the sleep out of her eyes before looking around to see exactly where she is. And what she sees makes her smile. She’s currently curled up on the couch in front of the TV in Richard Castle’s apartment, her head on her fiancée’s shoulder and his arm draped possessively across her own shoulder. He’s still fast asleep, as she can tell by his slow, steady, breathing, and the blanket normally across the back of the couch has been draped carefully over the two of them. Luckily, both of them are still fully clothed. She hears footsteps coming down the stairs, and she immediately looks up, meeting Alexis’s blue eyes, eyes that her soon to be stepdaughter had clearly inherited from Rick. “I missed you, Alexis” she says simply.  
Rick’s daughter… their daughter, as she’s been thinking of Alexis more and more for the past couple of months… smiles at her. “I’ve missed you too. Out of curiosity, what are you doing back in New York? I would have thought the FBI wanted you close after that last case…”  
Kate gently extricates herself from her fiancée’s arms, her stiff muscles protesting at the sudden movement, and crosses to Alexis, pulling her into a hug. “I couldn’t care less what they want right now. I resigned yesterday. You and your father are the most important things in my life, and I promise that I won’t be going anywhere any time soon. Unless it’s to the Hamptons or to hospital, and I’m not expecting the latter to occur until next week or the week after that” she says softly.  
“Why the hospital?”  
Alexis is staring up at her with those big blue eyes, and suddenly Kate feels that she absolutely has to tell her. “I’ll tell you, but you have to keep a secret until your father and I are ready to tell everyone, alright?”  
“I can keep a secret, Kate” Alexis grins back.  
“I’m pregnant”.  
“Really?”  
“Really. I found out just two days ago. Left the FBI yesterday, came back to New York today. I would have called you or your father, but I wanted more than anything to surprise the two of you”.  
Alexis’s embrace tightens momentarily, before the younger woman queries “How far along are you?”  
“Roughly three weeks, though at first I thought it was just a minor bug or something. It wasn’t until I realized that the smell of coffee made me want to throw up that I realized what it had to be”.  
~Richard Edgar Castle~  
Alexis chuckles, and it’s the sound of her laughter that finally wakes Rick from where he lays on the couch. He looks around, wildly, as if trying to reassure himself that Kate is really there and that it wasn’t all just some crazy dream, and his face breaks into a warm smile as he notices that his fiancée and his… their… daughter are currently in a tight embrace. God, he loves those two. “Go easy on her, Alexis. She’s going to be here for many years, after all” he comments.  
Both women look up and glance over at him in surprise at the sudden sound of his voice, and Rick gets to his own feet, embracing them both. “You know, the wedding’s not for another month. But why wait until then to make something official? Move in with me, Kate. Move in with us”.  
She laughs. “I was under the impression that I pretty much already had”.  
“Not the same. I mean officially move in”.  
She pauses momentarily, considering the offer. If he had asked her to move in with her at any point before she left for DC, she probably would have turned him down. But no, he’d proposed to her that day in the park; shown that he wanted to make a lifelong commitment to loving her. And she is more than ready to do the same for him. Besides, they’ll be living together after they get married anyway, and pretending otherwise is just silly, so why not live together until then anyway? She grins at her fiancée, pressing her lips against his in a searing, passionate, kiss. “Of course I’ll move in with you”.


End file.
